Jean Mayodon. Precious earth

Only enthusiasts of 20th-century decorative arts are likely to be familiar with the exceptional pieces by Raymond Subes and Jean Mayodon housed in Sens: the two friends, who probably met at the 1925 International Exhibition, were commissioned to decorate the flat of a couple of discerning collectors, Lucien and Fernande Marrey. They welcomed their guests with Rodin’s L’Âge d’airain, which is now on show in Sens alongside paintings by Abel Grimmer, Louis Watteau de Lille and Albert Marquet, thanks to two successive donations from their children, in 2002 and 2008. It is on the basis of these ten ceramics by Mayodon that the Museums of Sens have designed a fascinating exhibition - free of charge - accompanied by a rich catalogue, published with the essential support of the Association pour le Développement et le Rayonnement des Musées de Sens by Editions Faton.

1. Jean Mayodon (1893-1967)
Isadora Duncan, c. 1913
Oil on board - 58 x 49 cm
Private collection
Photo: Musées de Sens/E. Berry

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A veritable monographic retrospective, however succinct, the Senon exhibition certainly deserves every praise, but it has also clearly been produced with limited resources, which in the end only serves to underline its merit: Specialists and lenders have responded, and the small catalogue is enriched by contributions from Véronique Ayroles, Judith Cernogora, Anne Lajoix and Gérard Landrot, while Dorothée Censier - who is in charge of the fine art collections at Sens - naturally begins by recalling the history of the Marrey collection. We then follow Jean Mayodon’s career, from Sèvres to Alès, starting with his early career as a painter and decorator, and not forgetting his sources of inspiration, which he drew as much from Islamic ornamental vocabulary, with its fauna and plant motifs, as from Greek iconography. This return to Hellenism also remains emblematic of the art of Isadora Duncan, a pioneer of modern dance who herself…